Laysan Albatrosses on Kauai

I could never say I had ever seen an albatross until my last visit to Kauai a month ago.  On my previous trip four years ago I hadn't even looked for them; before that particular visit, I was always there out of their season.  But this time I stumbled upon the birds in a development crowded with homes, condos, and resorts.  It turned out you don't need to be on a ship at sea to witness an albatross in the wild.

There are more than a dozen species of albatrosses.  The wandering albatross is the largest seabird in the world, with a wingspan up to eleven and a half feet.  But the one I encountered on Kauai, the Laysan, was much smaller; the species' wingspan is not even seven feet.  In fact another local visiting seabird, the magnificent frigatebird, is slightly larger.  

I paused to look at two birds soaring overhead when I was touring Princeville in Kauai, a densely developed resort community atop a peninsula on the Hawaiian island's north shore.  The large birds seemed out of place in the community for some reason, incongruous with the ranch-style homes and garden apartments.  I had stayed several nights at a close-by condo, its views looking over Hanalei Bay toward the rugged and scenic Na Pali Coast, and I had only seen nenes, Hawaii's native geese.  But it appeared any cliff along the coastline provided safe nesting habitat for many seabirds including varieties of shearwaters, boobies, noddies, and tropicbirds.  So I shouldn't have been surprised that Princeville's own cliffside properties could offer additional safe habitat.

However I was stupefied when I saw a sign warning me, "Please slow down, albatross ahead."  I was in my rental car, heading into a cul de sac, and I soon noticed orange cones and mesh fencing set within a landscaped traffic circle.  Peering at me from within the makeshift pen, just a few feet away, was a large, juvenile bird in its nest: an albatross! 

I later learned the Laysan albatross is famous and beloved in Princeville where residents are eager to protect their nesting birds.  Besides the signs and the barriers, neighbors were careful about keeping their pets inside or leashed.  I even discovered another juvenile albatross just a couple blocks away.  And not far from the first bird, I watched an adult saunter across the road and waddle into a home's backyard.  I was so dumbfounded I didn't think to snap any shots with my ready zoom lens, instead I relied on my cellphone camera that was closer at hand. 

I contemplated the pricey boat trips along the coast, the muddy hikes above sheer cliffs, and the steep entrance fees to enter preserves like Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge a few miles away.  Sure the efforts and expense over the years have rewarded me with lots of exciting bird sightings and terrific photographs.  But there was something sweeter about wandering upon a first-time bird like an albatross: a drive checking out real estate turning into an unforgettable wildlife discovery.

Juvenile albatross in its nest in Princeville on Kauai. 

Adult albatross in Princeville.

Adult albatross in Princeville.

Sign in Princeville.